Infogrames sees strong Q2 sales

MadeleineAcey

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Infogrames Entertainment, the French video-game company that owns the Atari brand, reported strong second-quarter sales on Friday, sending its shares higher in Paris.

Infogrames
IFGEF
(005257) said fiscal second-quarter revenue improved to 105.4 million euros ($136 million), from 92.5 million euros ($119 million) in the same period last year. The growth was at the high end of forecasts, the company said.

Atari shares rose 7.2 percent in after-hours trade. The U.S.-based games publisher and distributor said its revenue improvement was driven by higher unit volume, better-than-average selling prices and more sales of the more expensive consoles. It had released eight games in the quarter.

Atari narrowed its net loss for the quarter to $16.9 million, or 14 cents a share, from $28.7 million, or 38 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. However it said it expected third-quarter revenue of $160 million to $175 million with earnings of 12 cents to 17 cents a share. Analysts had been expecting third-quarter revenue of $189 million with a profit of 24 cents a share.

In Paris Infogrames shares jumped 5.8 percent in Friday trade. The company's shares are thinly traded in the U.S. over-the-counter market.

The company said in its sales update that it expects second-half sales to confirm its forecast of moderate growth for the year, with console-game volumes sharply rising while PC-game volumes fall.

Infogrames also said it would release a slew of titles in the third quarter, including a compilation of 20 classic Atari games.

But Deutsche Bank, which reiterated a "sell" rating on Infogrames, said the second-quarter results should not be extrapolated to the year as a whole, as it believes the second quarter represents around 15.3 percent of fiscal year sales.

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